Those Whose Time is Unneffected
by Mizu Ryujin
Summary: A collection of stories that explores the events that would've followed soon after Subaru's deaths in different various timelines.
1. Cursed

The moment I woke up; I knew that there had been something missing or that there was a strange feeling that something was off about today. I spent a few minutes thinking what exactly had been missing whilst I absently-mindedly did my morning routine while not actually being bothered by the small presence of worry at the pit of my stomach. I woke up nee-sama whilst going through my routinely schedule and then finally deciding who gets to wake up Subaru-kun.

It was at the mention of his name that I finally knew what was missing – that repulsive stench of a witch, though it was subtle and not overbearing. However, I still noticed it; something that was as disgusting as a witch going closer to the people heightened my worries as I feared the existence that is Subaru Natsuki. Though I am grateful of the fact that he had saved Emilia-sama, the growing and anxiety that he might be a spy or part of some kind of sect of witches scared me… to the point that I felt that I should just dispose of him. So the fact that the lingering scent of that putrid smell had disappeared had increased my anxiety.

"Nee-sama…" I tried to start off.

"Rem, look, if he ever does anything I have Roswaal-sama's order to take an appropriate action. So your worries are unneeded."

I gave a knowing and retired look at my sister as she went to Subaru's room. So as she left, why was it that I felt as if something had already happened? As if something sinister had already transpired and took something from this house.

It wasn't long after that I started to go to the kitchen when I heard the shouting my sister calling out for me in a desperate voice.

 _That bastard! I knew that this would happen!_

"Rem, come quick here! NOW!"

"I'll be there, just hang on a bit nee-sama!"

I shouted back in response.

In my hurried state, I looked at the place. There standing in front of the bastard was my sister with a difficult face that could only be described as shock. It had seemed that I was horribly incorrect about what was happening though I thought that nee-sama would have already woken up the boy.

"Nee-sama, what's wrong? I thought that you would have already woken him up."

I was confused by the scene in front of me, there lay seemed the yet awoken form of my colleague – closed eyes and with a comfortable smile on his face to the point of looking idiotic.

"Rem… Can you please stay here for a while and not let anything happen in this room? I'll need to report this to Roswaal-sama and the others."

I quickly nodded in affirmation, though I was still confused. An explanation wasn't given to me and my growing sense of anxiety came back moments later as I saw my elder sister. I didn't want to ask due to it being unbecoming of me. So I instead began to wait by the bedside of the boy in front of me.

"Subaru-kun, are you so lazy that you can't even wake up properly?"

I tried to wake him up with my own words, though they did not have any affect. Even though shaking him up awake should've been more affective, I refrained from doing such due to my sister's orders. It wasn't until that I actually noticed that he wasn't breathing that I realized something was terribly wrong. My blood froze up as I realized why my sister was so unnerved by this.

 _No… It can't be._

Now that I observed his state fully, his face was so pale that you could almost compare it to chalk. My suspicions were confirmed as I felt the coldness of his body… As if his own body could not perform homeostasis and had failed to do its regulation. It was daunting – his smile now warped with a new meaning as he had looked like he had accepted the embrace of the void.

It was such a sad site. That smile only served to add fuel to the pangs of guilt at his already pitiful and sorry state as I recounted the 5 days that he spent here as a servant. He is going to be troublesome, I thought to myself since the very beginning and as time passed it became increasingly apparent that he was transparent with the things he says but I still believed that he was a man with malicious intents – why else would someone appear out of nowhere to help a candidate for the throne along with that putrid scent of a witch.

But what transpired here is proof of his transparency – the smile that accepted his fate, the relatively peaceful way of passing that would not cause any further mess and the content look that hinted of benevolent intent.

He died from weakness… A debilitating yet relatively peaceful death – something so painless yet something infinitely unsympathetic.

 _Was I wrong in my judgement?_

* * *

I heard the knock on the door as I was doing my preparation for today.

"Yes what is it? I'm a little busy getting dressed."

 _After all, I'm going to town with Subaru today._

"We will wait until you are finished then, Emilia-sama." I heard the voice of Roswaal.

It was strange that Roswaal should be visiting me at this moment, I mean the man is the Archwizard of the country so his own schedule would be very busy which means that there's something important that he going to tell me. So as I opened the door I saw a rare sight of a down trodden look of Roswaal and by his side Ram who also seemed sorrowful. Which led me to believe that there had been something that had happened.

"May we come in Emilia-sama?"

My face showed worry as I asked what they wanted to talk about.

"You're welcome to do so. Please sit on the chairs so we can discuss about what you need to talk to me about."

The lord of the house and his maid bowed in an act of gratitude and motioned to sit onto the chairs around a small table around it.

"I'll be as soft as possible, Emilia-sama. Because I don't want to distress you."

"I have bad feeling about this Lia."

I jumped at the sound of the voice of my contractor at my right ear.

"Puck! Please don't do that! You scared me half to death with that!"

"Sorry Lia but, as I said I have a bad feeling on what they might say…"

I furrowed my brows and felt anxiety creep up to my chest as Roswaal frowned ever so slightly.

 _If Puck has a bad feeling about this, then this is not going to be pleasant._

Rosewaal made some kind of gesture to Ram and he motioned Puck to come with him whilst Ram positioned herself so that I couldn't see or hear what they would be talking about. With some feelings of worry, I offered for Ram to sit down next to the sofa in my room. Complying to my offer, she chose to sit down to the seat directly across to me.

"So what did you want to talk about, Ram?"

A barely noticeable flinch appeared on her features and it disappeared as fast as it had appeared, cementing my own concern.

"Emilia-ojousama, I can't tell you all of the details but Rosewaal-sama ordered me to see it so that you know of your benefactor's condition…"

"Subaru? What happened to him? I just saw him last night, in fact he even promised me that he'd go into town today with me."

She responded with silence and somehow made the sigh that she had made the atmosphere even more daunting. I felt the tension around the room rose up considerably, which made me even more anxious.

"Emilia-sama… I regret to inform you of what's happened…"

I felt my nerves shut down, all emotions and sensations I felt during the time were dulled out by the shock that surged throughout my body.

"No… Please tell me it isn't so…"

At the corner of the room I could see Puck and Rosewaal coming back into the room. As both of them had intimidatingly bleak faces shown on the features.

"Lia… I think it's best that you go to see him, even this guy here agreed to it."

My mind automatically processed what just happened without any conscious thought into it as I nodded absent-mindedly and began to walk in a painfully slow pace towards my first friend's room.

 _This is my fault again isn't it?_

* * *

Usually the petit blonde would be spending her time in the library to protect it from any external threats. However, something rather unprecedented had just happened in the mansion – something gravely serious had just happened that it required her attention to be at the scene.

She did not flinch at the sight of the blue haired maid standing horrified at the posture of the deceptive state of the boy on the bed. No – rather she was confused on what is happening until she noticed that the smell that came from the boy had disappeared.

 _What had happened?_

"Beatrice-sama…"

The maid bowed to her as she stepped out of her way to let the small girl walk towards the boy in question to inspect him. His body temperature was exceedingly low, his skin was pale and he showed no signs of breathing – it all pointed to the conclusion that the maid had. However, what puzzled the girl was not the way in which he died but rather why it was him who was targeted by such a vile method.

 _Primary cause of death must be weakness… It looks as like he was cursed meaning that the curse slowly shut down his organs to have his body cease functioning, I suppose._

In a way, it was a relatively peaceful death as it happened in his sleep without him feeling any pains – any that he would have felt would have been blocked by the fact that his nervous system would've also shut down.

 _What a vile way to end... And for what cause must the boy's spiritual flame to be snuffed out?_

A disgusted face creeps up onto her facial features upon learning the method and cause of his death. The disgust twisted even more as she looks upon the rather daunting smile left by the boy – a face looking forward for the future yet in a short amount of time, that future was taken from him without his notice. It was a rather pitiful thought really, a waste of what would have been an optimistic person that could definitely bring more excitement around the mansion to ease her lonesome existence.

 _This should never have happened… I failed in the one thing that the book told me to absolutely avoid doing so… I suppose._

* * *

And with that thought, the librarian choked an incoming sob.

"Beatrice, you've arrived much faster than I thought you would."

I heard the voice of Rosewaal calling out to the librarian but no response came back to the Archmage. As we arrived at the room where Subaru resided, I felt the sensation of Puck landing onto my shoulders to provide me with some comfort. I look towards the twin maids with varying looks of wistfulness and condolence.

Part of me wanted to run, to face away from the reality of what happened as if to reject what this world had just cruelly taken away from; a caring, hard-working, compassionate and, if a bit silly, friend. Yet what happens to all of his actions that I still feel that I owe him for? It's rewarded with demise and futures being stolen. A bitter reminder on how the world around us worked.

"Lia…"

I felt compelled to look at his features and with what possibly the cruellest scene I had experienced; I saw the expression of tenderness. My eyes swelled from the pitiful yet rather pristine condition he had maintained. And bit by bit I felt myself go misty-eyed to glossed with tears that threaten to fall.

"Beatrice… Have you found out the cause yet?"

My eyes were directed towards the librarian spirit next to me as she sighed, looking quite dejected.

"He was cursed… I don't exactly know when he was cursed but I'm very sure it was after when you employed him to work here. And by the looks of it, it activated last night when he was soundly asleep."

"He was a liar… He said he'd go with me today into the village for the "date" that he asked…"

"Please Lia… Do understand that this wasn't anyone's fault but those who cursed him."

The tears I so desperately tried to hold back had burst out and though I tried to choke back my sobs that soon followed, I simply couldn't do it. I owed him such a huge debt that he just casually brushed off by saying that my own debts were nulled the moment I healed him, the fact that I gave him my name or the fact that he is now employed here. He was too illogical! His priorities were skewed and his sense of reward was far too less for the one action that led me to be saved and him to be severely incapacitated.

"He didn't deserve this… After all of the things that he did, this is the kind of fate that he gets?"

Sharpness of my voice grew with each passing statement that I tried to utter out, to somehow make myself feel somewhat better.

"Subaru became my friend even after knowing full well on who I look like… And yet he still treated me like I was a normal person… Not even being afraid of me…"

"Lia… I know it's hard for you to accept but think about how he'd react in seeing you like this. And as much as I do also feel sad about this, I just don't think he'd appreciate seeing you all depressed like this…"

Petty emotions swelled around, many of which could have made me lash out at any moment at the people around here. Something I refrained from doing as a continuous stream of tears flowed throughout my cheeks down to the floor.

"It's just not fair Puck… How is it that someone of his nature be so treated unfairly by this world? He has not done anything that's worth this fate yet…"

"I know Lia, trust me… I really do…"

I heard the cracks in Puck's voice.

"And it's with a heavy heart for me to say that we should learn from his positivity – something that's truly needed around here."

And for many moments to come, I sobbed out my grief onto a Puck's larger form as a hug enveloped me.

 _Why would the world be so cruel?_


	2. Expunged

It was in the dead of the night when she heard the pained screams, distinctly sounding like the boy in which she promised an outing with. Not only was she worried but also terrified what just happened.

The screams halted but in place was a sickening impact on an object that's too soft to be considered inanimate and it made her blood freeze. From the howls of pains and the horrifyingly grotesque impact onto a body, she was sure of what just happened. Without a doubt it was death.

She wanted to just ignore what just happened. To delude herself and say that what she just heard had been just a figment of her imagination. But ultimately she decided to investigate.

And what she saw was something she'd regret ever seeing.

* * *

The air in the room was thick, it almost felt as if it was liquid that they breathed – like the tension itself was tangible and given form into something heavier than the natural gasses that normal people breath in.

It was painstakingly clear that the silver-haired half elf was distressed by the current events – no that would be putting it lightly. Perhaps distraught and anguished was a better word to describe the feelings that she felt. After all, isn't it natural to feel so after knowing that your one and only friend has been killed in the place you call home? It would be perfectly natural in her actions to lash out at anyone in her immediate vicinity for the sheer damage dealt to her dear friend…

Silence that filled the air seemed to choke the people around as each passing moment became increasingly clear that the half-elf was clearly in disfavour for them.

"Rem, can you please tell me why you had to do it."

Her tone was neither a plea nor was it a request, behind each of those words were thinly veiled resentment and a bubbling pot of just as equal amounts of other negative emotions.

Why did it turn out like this? Wasn't it her who asked the other people of the mansion to protect him; to heal him? So why is it that one of the people who she put her trust in was the one who ended up having to bring the boy she had befriended to his demise?

It was the blue haired maid. Clear as day to the spirit due to having sensed her worry and ever growing anxiety.

"Please do so child, I'm afraid even this one who's been alive for more than 500 years could still feel angry so if you will not tell us – not even I would hesitate to encase the whole mansion in ice."

The maid looked at the ground, painfully sure of what would happen if she were to make a crucial mistake.

"S-Subaru-kun had been suffering from the effects of the curse… as Beatrice-sama had already pointed out and Rem heard the alarm so Rem went to see where he had been…"

The entire experience of explaining herself wasn't far off if you had said she was choking on broken glass, the mood, the atmosphere and the tension was far too heavy for her not to take pauses. It wasn't so much as the fear of the would come from the two but rather the events that would soon follow and in how things would change in the mansion.

So she continued.

"K-knowing full well that he was tormented by the pain, Rem put him out of his misery."

The two glared holes into the girl's stature.

"Oh is that so? You're entire reasoning was that Subaru was suffering and therefore you had your sense of duty to snuff out his existence, is that correct?"

An almost unnoticeable gulp was taken by the two maids as the Rosewaal tried to stay calm at the current situation, something impossible to do currently.

"Yes, Pack-sama."

They didn't buy it. And why would they? After seeing the sheer damage done to the body – no that was not something you could call mercy; it was done in just pure malice. The type of thing you would do if you saw your tormentor and showed a face of disgust, only in a much gorier fashion.

"Y-you think that this explanation would work! Here I was believing entirely that I could trust you people to care for someone who I owe a great debt to… He asked to be someone that works in this mansion because you argued that he's an anomaly, and that it's wiser to have him be here for mutual benefit – something incredibly minor for what he's done…"

Tears fell down her pristine-pearl like cheeks. Not just through anguish, but also through frustration and deep betrayal.

"He tried to be friends with everyone in this mansion, because he wanted to get along with everyone. And how was he repaid for his actions? A curse and gruesome death!"

The pained expression that all of the people in the room showed was as if someone took a smouldering blade and thrusted it through their hearts, completely and utterly impaling through them.

"Emilia-sama you have to unde –"

"What do I have to understand?! That I've gravely been mistaken about what I thought about you people? That I cannot fulfil the promise I made to the first person in a long time to befriend me?"

Silence turned from seconds into minutes as the silver-haired half-elf continued to choke back her sobs.

"Emilia-sama… I sincerely apologise for what has happened, while I cannot possibly ask for your forgiveness so easily – I will please ask of you to give us a second chance."

Rosewaal's voice and tone were unlike anything else that he had sounded before, they were desperate and the usual manner of speaking was complete devoid of what they are now.

"No… I can no longer trust any of you. I no longer wish to be in this place, and so I will also forfeit the elections. So I would then return to my forest… At the very least I will not have to be reminded of the thought of seeing someone who I considered my friend to be in such a fashion."

The count stepped forward to grab both of the girl's hands in an attempt to calm her down. Something that ultimately failed.

"Please Emilia-sama, I'd recommend that you do not do this. It's unwise to forfeit such an important event from frustration. Please do reconsider."

Slap!

Short, concise and impactful. It was an unexpected gesture of utter rejection, something that triggered both of the maids to go into a stance against Emilia. It ran on pure instinct that had been drilled onto both of them. All the while the count himself had held both back, knowing full well on what would happen had the girl been attacked and hurt.

"You've brought pain and anguish to my daughter, and that's not something I can forgive anyone so easily for. If you're not careful, I might just turn the three of you into shards of ice."

"Emilia-sama, what would you do after returning to the forest?"

"I regret my decision of accepting your proposal… The royal election is not the only thing I could be part in to atone for what I have done to the rest of the elven people… I'll carry the weight behind my sins by my own shoulders and it's something I should have done in the first place rather than trusting someone with the path for my redemption."

A strong pyre burned onto the eyes of Emilia, not through the sorrow she felt but rather it was the conviction and the sense of responsibility for what she had done in the past and what has happened now.

"I will take Subaru's remains and I will bury him myself to a place in which no-one will bother his rest, after all this is the only thing left I could do for… him."

* * *

The feeling of regret played over the blue haired maid's head over and over again at the sight of Emilia's frame who was looking at the wrapped up carcass of the rat whose life she ended.

She did not get it; none of this was supposed to happen. The boy's existence had been a pest – someone who's involved with the Witch's Cult must be exterminated and none would care. Yet it all fell apart, the household had lost their legible royal candidate over something so petty as executing a would be intruder.

It was a painfully awkward journey to the elven forest with neither of the girls saying anything. Simply put, words aren't needed in order to know the gravity of the situation that occurred previously.

 _I did something selfish again didn't I?_


	3. Judged

Only the howls of the wind and the swinging of the tree branches were the noises in which you could hear and everything else was filtered out much like being submerged underwater. Both girls knowing full well the severity of what they had just done as well as being bewildered by the words in which the boy whose eyes are now shut tight, perhaps thinking it would bring at least some salvation to the an otherwise unfortunate wreck that was Subaru Natsuki.

"Onee-sama, I believe that it was not necessary to have done that; the rat would've provided for more information had you not given him your mercy."

However, the twins clearly did not agree with each other's methods. It was clear as day that the blue haired of the twin was dissatisfied with the outcome of the situation at hand and neither was the pink-haired twin.

"I am well aware of the situation at hand, Rem. I was given the order by Rosewaal-sama that it should be me who would decide the fate our guest and I was to keep you in check in case you act rashly; only one of which I had been successful for."

The younger twin took a step back, feeling the pressure and the tension made from the words in which her older sister had spoken. She realised that the actions she took clearly over stepped in the boundaries in which she was supposed to. Quite exaggeratedly misinterpreted her lord's order in an extreme fashion.

"I…"

"No matter. I will need to report this to Rosewaal-sama himself and I will say that it was me in which decided that the existence of our former guest was in fact a threat to the mansion."

Rem gulped as Ram sighed disappointedly at what had just happened. It was yet another example in how her younger sister tried too hard to compensate for what she cannot do.

"Onee-sama… I understand. I'm sorry for my actions."

"Rem, raise your head. You've done enough."

With that, they went to dispose of the body of the boy. Still truck with a face of despair, his eyes still wide open with tears now dried off to reveal bloodshot eyes filled with an unending amount of pain and suffering.

 _I love you both._

Both of the maids contemplated the meaning of his words yet found no answers. All plausible scenarios that played on their minds presented itself with even more questions as the mystery behind the man known as Subaru Natsuki will never be truly uncovered anymore.

* * *

"Tell me Ram, what of the boy?"

She showed absolutely no signs of flinching or any sort of emotion on her face as it remained neutral and blank.

"I judged that he was threat to the mansion after all. He set himself up a cliff to look at the mansion from afar, presumably scouting around the area. In combination of the fact that Rem herself had said that the miasma of the witch lingered upon the boy, it was not an uncalled for assumption to say that he is a spy from the Witch's Cult."

"I see. So it wasn't Rem who acted but you, yes?"

A miniscule twitch from her eye had moved as Rosewaal had blurted out words that should have made her panic, yet she remained neutral.

"Yes. It would seem that he himself expected to be killed as he had said so himself that he knew he would be killed. Although he did not expect that it was me to do so. It was as if he expected someone else to kill him."

"How interesting. It's a shame though, I sensed quite a lot of potential from the boy… Besides he would've been… Never mind. You have done your job Ram; you may rest now while I deal with what had just occurred."

The pink haired demon bowed to her master as she silently went towards the door and left, as if she had not even been inside the room. As she left, seeds of worry took over the maid as she pondered about her actions in lying to her lord and saviour. All the while the wizard himself held the book in hand with simmering frustration showing onto his face.

"I knew I should not have let him go!"

His fists slammed down hard onto his oaken desk, quite visibly weakened by the sheer force behind the strike.

"This changes everything! Dammit all of this had been for nothing! Now I cannot even use the book because we strayed from the path it said to follow!"

Yet another crack appeared on the desk, this time visibly showing the inner layers of the desk that he had used as the rupture itself showed. But as soon as his frustration showed, the duke himself calmed down with a rather malicious grin on his features.

"No matter. I'll do whatever it takes to take that dragon down. Do not worry my master, Ekidna-sama, I'll definitely save you."

* * *

The mansion was oddly quiet yet again, it was strange. It felt as if it had lacked a certain aura that was refreshing to see. But to spirits, such things were much like a breeze in the wind; refreshing to feel through yet it will dissipate rather quickly.

"Nii-cha! Are here to visit me in the library?"

"Well, that's one thing, but I also have another thing to ask."

"Yay! And please do ask away! I'd love to answer any of your questions!"

As the pair of spirits had gotten in a rather comfier state, they both interacted as much as actual siblings. Both in which showed affection greatly for each other as Beatrice would stroke Pack's fur and he would respond appropriately. They conversed for many minutes until the topic of the twins came up; the one in which Pack originally wanted ask about.

"The two of them has been weird lately especially with their emotions. The younger one's guilty of something and the other feels disappointed and regretful. Do you know why?"

"I have a couple of ideas regarding that myself. It must have something to do with that annoying brat that was here a couple of days ago. I myself knew of the witch's smell coming from him – something you knew already but I was not aware that the younger smelt it either."

The witch's scent. The repugnant, disgusting and repulsive smell of miasma that comes from those in which the witch had come into contact or had favoured for.

"I thought as much… I was sure that he was not anyone harmful, after all he never even showed any speck of malicious intent in anytime he interacted with anyone in the mansion, not even any sort of negative emotion. Nervousness and fear every now and there were the only things I could sense that was off but that was all."

"We should not let the girl find out so soon should we, I suppose?"

An air of tension rose again with somewhat a sombre undertone knowing what took place.

"There's nothing else to do but to not let that naïve child know about this. After all, you wouldn't want all the feedback and the thought of facing her during her guilt trip, I suppose."

"Honestly I quite agree that Lia should not know about what happened to the boy. Though unfortunate, he was a good person who thought the best for her despite knowing of her lineage. But I don't like it. The fact that I have to hide this from her."

 _It's for the better._

Unanimously decided, those word hang for a good while in the silence between the two spirits. After all, what's another life taken for beings who had lived for centuries?


	4. Execution via Possession

"Julius… Please kill me. Draw your sword!"

He uttered the words that made the other two's heart sank. It cut through their thoughts, completely wiping off all other traces of hope.

"What are you saying Subaru…"

"If you don't stop me now, we can't win…"

Frustration grew upon Julius' face as the boy's struggle for control of his own body grew more and more desperate. With each breath he took, so did the Archbishop of Sloth. For every word he uttered, he felt like his head was being crushed.

"Before that happens… Please!"

Anxiety took hold of the knight as he tried to think of ways to peacefully take care of the madman who's trying to control Subaru.

"I refuse! I cannot do that! You told me you had something to tell me and that it can wait until this is settled! Will you toss that aside?!"

The boy's body contorted in multiple ways, both showing his grasp upon his body was growing ever weaker.

"I apologize, but it looks like I won't get the chance to say it."

Subaru faced the other boy who was wearing rags, their eyes met as both of them knew what he was going to say.

"Ferris! Please…"

Subaru's eyes faltered as the shine that was once there glossed and flickered away, akin to a flame that's about to die. All the while Julius grit his teeth as he balled is fists tighter than a metal clamp whilst his other friend's eyes started forming tears around his eyes, understanding that this may be the only solution.

He steeled himself for what was about to come as he prepared his mana while walking towards the nearly possessed boy. The person who gave the opportunity to subjugate the beast that terrorized the Kingdome of Lugnica for many centuries was about to die by his hands.

"You can resent me for this, Subaru-kun…"

More tears fell as his hand touched his cheek, fully knowing what he was about to do.

"I will resent myself too."

As his magic activated, a distinct and grotesque sound of flesh contorting in impossible directions could be heard. Subaru coughed up blood in the wake of the activation as he screamed his lungs from the sheer pain that he had to feel from the overload of mana surging through his body that continued to make his organs tear each other apart.

The Spirit Knight's eyes widened at what happened as his frustrations grew again but also replaced with another sense of dread. He thought to himself on the way to the Mathers territory that he and the boy would've made for good friends for each other.

"Ferris! Why?!"

"There's no others that can do it is there?!"

The beastkin turned to look at the other knight as he also let out his frustration with influx of tears also washed over him.

"This is what Subaru wants! Are you telling me to not respect his wishes?!"

Taken aback by his friend's words, his resolve grew cold and cut.

"But… Even so, there must have been some other way."

"Do you think I wanted to do this? To use my power for Crusch-sama, the power I swore to my liege, for this?!"

As Julius was about to also retort to his friend, they were cut off by the mumbling of the madman.

"It can't be, it can't be! Just when I've found the perfect vessel! Just when the Ordeal's completion was at hand…"

The madman continued to utter meaningless words as Julius finally drew his sword to the once body of someone who could be considered as a hero who helped take down the White Whale.

"My lack of virtue was what forced this undesirable situation upon you and Ferris."

He steeled himself for what was Subaru's unjust execution, as he readied his sword.

"I'm sure I will also be punished for so."

As his sword glistened in the sky's red and orange infernal-like hue, an overhead swing took place.

"I will never die!"

The sound cutting flesh rang through as the boy's heart was pierced by Julius' sword

* * *

"W-we're sorry for ever doubting you Emilia-sama! We were just scared; would you please forgive us?"

A tall and well-built man with a red scarf approached the half elf, begging for forgiveness for not believing her words of danger and instead sending her away. After realizing that she had been running around trying to repair and strengthen the barrier of the town, remaining villagers felt severely guilty.

"Please raise your head. You've not wronged anyone, you were merely scared were you not?"

Pangs of guilt resonated within the villagers that were left in the commotion, though with some varying amount of frustration at the situation with others still resenting Emilia's existence being so near the village.

"We're forever grateful for your actions! I hope someday that we may be able to repay this!"

Her contracted spirit gave a mischievous smile that quickly faded as he yawned, with his energy drained for the day.

"I'm afraid this is it for the day Lia. Sorry I can't stay around for a bit more. So if you find yourself in a bit of trouble, do go to Beatrice, she'll definitely help you."

"It's OK Pack, I doubt that the witch cult would be trying to do anything else after this disaster for them. So you can rest yourself for now."

Pack yawned again as he gave his words of farewell to his contractor as dusk began to settle around, dyeing the sky in an ominous purple hue from the sun not quite set yet but it being in the middle of progressing to night.

With the sky darkened, she could barely see the figures of the two knights with one of them carrying a cloaked object that extended further than both of the Knights' shoulders combined.

"Julius and Felix? Why do they look so downtrodden?"

She found herself quite anxious and very nervous at the reactions of the two knights as they continued to carry the cloaked thing. As she was about to walk up to the two, she was cut off view by others of the same company as the two as a crowd had gathered around the two as Julius carefully settled the cloaked object down, quite easily now identifying that it was in fact a dead body.

The half-elf could not pass through the people who had told her that this is not something she should see yet. Although discontent with what preventing her from seeing what the commotion was about, she complied and instead asked around if Subaru was around.

"I… I do not recall seeing Subaru-sama's presence around the village. It's quite possible that he is with the merchants as he doesn't possess much combat ability."

With a growing suspicion on her chest, she decided to leave it be for now and went to ask the merchants that were near the gates of the village. A seed of doubt beginning to root hold into her heart, however dismissing it as feeling of dread after such a battle.

* * *

As Julius and Felix arrived at the town, they both noticed that Emilia was still there. Not wanting to cause severe discomfort and anguish for the half-elf, both had decided to call upon the station reinforcements to block her path to inquire about what is happening.

"How could you let this happen?"

Wilhelm's words cut through the air much like the swords he carried with an overpowering amount of dread that was mixed in his words as well as frustration at what had transpired.

"!-I fa-failed in my duty. I'm sorry, I truly regret having to do so…"

The company of soldiers and mercenaries looked at the scene with disbelief, shock, sorrow, anger and regret.

"Dammit! WHY?! Of all time why must that have happened!"

Ricardo with all of his frustration pounded his hulking fists to the ground, creating shockwaves around. So much so that each of the knights felt it akin to a small earthquake. Each shockwave they felt, a pang of regret filled them which got the attention of several villagers.

"What's happening? You drove away the witch cult didn't you so why are you so sad?"

With a quick reveal, all eyes turned away from the body of the boy as others had gasped, others simply wept.

"Subaru-sama? It can't be…"

"It's not true right?"

"That's not possible… How?"

The mumblings of the disbelief of the villagers filled the air as a sombre atmosphere took hold.

"Was it wise to try and withdraw this crucial information from Emilia-sama?"

Julius turned around to the Sword Devil with a complex expression that portrayed many emotions, all of which were negative.

"I'll take full responsibility for what happens afterwards. I just want to take this moment to rest my mind so I could ready myself for what's to come."

The aged man nodded solemnly, a pity for someone so young and with so much vigour to be taken so early on. To Wilhelm, the boy had been a godsend. Someone who had given him the chance to finally get his satisfaction of avenging his oh so wonderful wife, Theresia. So to say that the man was filled with regret and sorrow, was a severe understatement.

"Then I shall accept your judgement. This old man is already filled with so much regret, to say that I want to honour the boy to be acknowledged as a hero would be saying too little of what he's done."

Julius nodded in agreement, recalling all the things in which Subaru had made possible due to his foresight and great judgement. Even at the forest, his judgement to have himself be executed was the best possible course of action as it would not only ensure that one of the Archbishops of Sin from the Witch Cult is in fact dead but also it also deal a huge blow to any forces left around the area, ensuring total victory for their side.

However, at the cost of a promising teen that would be seen quickly as a rising star amongst the people of Lugnica would be gone. He gave the opportunity to subjugate a beast that had terrorized the people of Lugnica for many centuries and also managed to help in its subjugation. Even more so, his foresight of the Witch Cult's attack on the Mathers territory had prevented any more lives being taken unjustly by them. If he wasn't a hero, then what would that make of the knights who had not shown such movement beforehand?

* * *

"Do you understand the situation?"

The pink haired maid nodded solemnly, fully grasping the implications of the situation at hand. Or more accurately she knew exactly that the death of such individual would very much leave the village that interacting with him frequently downtrodden.

"Yes, Julius-sama. I shall leave the matter of informing Emilia-sama to you then."

"I thank you for your cooperation."

She bowed as the figures of the knights strolled to the mansion as a sigh of exasperation and disappointment with small pangs of angst left her. As she thought, the self-proclaimed dog of the half-elf died.

"I guess that was where your abilities would get you, Barusu. Maybe I was wrong about you after all…"

A mumble escaped her lips as she performed her duty of informing Rosewaal of what had transpired during the day.

* * *

"After all that searching, I still couldn't find him… I wonder if Subaru is avoiding me?"

"You realize that he's probably just embarrassed to see you after what happened right? I mean I don't blame him because all of that would just be awkward for the both of you."

Emilia still dissatisfied with Pack's answer, nodded anyway. She thought of what happened back in the capital and that Subaru is now back in the Mathers Territory. For sure it was due to her words that clearly upset him but to her it was just as painful to push away a friend.

"I guess you're right. The next time I see him, I guess I'll apologize.

"Tut, tut, tut. Lia are already forgetting what you lectured him in the beginning. What was it again? It was something like 'It's better to say thanks to someone instead of endlessly apologizing" wasn't it?"

The girl bushed a pink hue stained her face as she felt severely embarrassed by the rat-coloured cat's words. Emilia was about to retort but she heard the firm but soft knocks that came from the oaken door, signifying the appearance of a visitor.

"Yes? Who is it?"

Firm and strong, the voice of the spirit knight came through the door requesting permission for him and the healer to enter. Confused, Emilia reluctantly accepted their requests to come in.

"Greetings Emilia-sama. I see you're well rested after such a long day yesterday, I thank you for your cooperation and I apologize for what you had to see yesterday."

She shakes her head as the apologies that the Spirit Knight were dismissed. Much like a worthy candidate, she had pressed on for the reason for their presence.

"May I request for Pack-sama's time for a little while, I have something I wish to discuss with him beforehand."

Deeper layers of confusion settled down to her nerves as the act of asking for her contracted spirit's time was very rare to have seen. Naturally the spirit accepted Julius' proposal as they quietly went somewhere else to talk, leaving herself with a rather dispirited healer.

"We've driven off the Witch Cult, why do you looks so sad Felix?"

He flinched at her words of worry, knowing full well on the event that transpired with the climax of yesterday's battle. A sharp stabbing pain entered his heart yet again as the image of Subaru's heart being pierced by Julius' sword replayed on his mind.

"You'd be correct Emilia-sama if not for the casualties we've gotten…"

Her mood dropped even lower as she thought about the many people killed in the battle, innocent or not each one of those lives had been taken and cannot ever be brought back.

"However, you've still prevented the massacre of even more lives right? It must account for at least something."

A sad smile appeared onto Felix's face expressing a bittersweet reminder.

"Thank you Emilia-sama. However, I cannot take those words for my own… after what I've done…"

As he mumbled the last part, Emilia could not hear the words he spoke that portrayed self-hate and guilt.

"Why shouldn't you? You were one of the people who saved many lives, after all you've healed so many people that wouldn't have survived without so."

"You'll understand soon enough."

As those words were uttered, Julius and Pack came back into the room as both of them seemed to be frustrated.

"Lia, we're going to the town."

* * *

The small town of Arlham village was strangely quiet. All village folk gathered around the village heads Muraosa and Milde with both having pained looks as they spoke to the folk of what happened.

"And it was because of an unfortunate young boy that we're still alive. It was his initiative and foresight that we had managed to save a majority of the people here."

Many of the folks soon realized who the two meant with varying amounts of sorrow appeared to their faces. Some cried, others sobbed, many gritted their teeth and all of the children hugged their parents whilst they bellowed in anguish.

To the people of Arlham, the only butler of Rosewaal's mansion was not just some friendly face that came three times a week, nor was he just some person who was amiable with everyone in the village. No he was their hero for once already during the attack of the beast tamer, someone acknowledged by both the children and adults alike as a somewhat of a role model or at the very least a charismatic figure who would bring people together.

The three members of the Leyte family wept with Petra being devastated by the news.

"Why did he have to go, dad? Didn't he promise us that he'd go and do those fun mornings with everyone? Did he lie about keeping that promise?"

"It's not like that Petra and you know it… I bet you that he would've came running back her the day after the battle to play with you guys."

Their cries resonated with another as their parents and the adults tried to calm them down.

"Don't cry children. I'm sure that he would be sad right now if he saw you crying like this. And as such all we have to do is not to think that he's gone, but rather he's always with us as long as you remember him."

It wasn't that he was strong or that he had power or any of those sorts of things but rather it was all due to the effort he made that pulled on the townsfolk's hearts.

During side, a subtle yet infinitely louder sound of a certain half-elf's heart breaking could be heard.

"Th-this was all my fault… I-I was the one who caused all of this."

"Lia… It wasn't your fault."

As more and more words flowed through Emilia's self-hate, in became increasingly apparent that the two knights near her were growing more and more frustrated while the contracted spirit kept them at bay.

"I-I pushed him away. D-drove him into deep sadness while I remained doing my routine half-attentive of what's happening…"

"But in equal parts that was also his fault wasn't it?"

"I would have to also say that I was also to blame for that as the one who pushed him to the duel. I looked at him with disdain at first but with my short time of knowing him, he's was much the good man my good friend Reinhard had described at first."

"No… H-he was doing it all for me. I should've realized that, yes maybe that was maybe his fault. But was it justified of me to just toss aside his reason? To just disregard his circumstances and not even listen to why he acted like so?"

With the final straw being drawn the Spirit Knight snapped. Pack who had known of his emotions intervened with a wall of ice appearing between them.

"Stand back Spirit Knight. You're better off cooling that head of yours I don't want anyone even having those emotions near my daughter."

He gritted his teeth as he punched the wall making cracks appear in a web-like fashion.

"What? You think that I would've used my powers against Emilia-sama of all people? No! I was frustrated that for all of her sadness, she had not once even acknowledged what Subaru had done!"

"As far as I can tell he hasn't. He's been running around like a headless chicken all throughout the time I've seen him."

This time it was Felix who intervened with flaring clear anger present in his eyes.

"Maybe at the time of the capital, with my impression of him I may had agreed with you. I would explain what's been happening, but seeing as though you haven't seen a reason why these village folk are in tears then I guess you wouldn't even understand."

"Ferris… Though I agree with sentiment, I believe that was a little too much."

His friend looked at him as well with flickering frustration.

"No! I of all people understood how much he did! He made himself bait for the subjugation of the White Whale, he kept trying when almost all of the people who took part felt despair, he was even crazy enough to stand on the White Whale and provoke it to come after him! He doesn't deserve the words you throw at him because you haven't seen what he looks like when doing that! None of the Knights can compare to what he did because in truth for all our strengths, we couldn't do what Subaru-kun did!"

Astounded by the information that the grey cat had heard, pangs of guilt stabbed through his heart regretting his words. All the while Emilia remained stunned but the images of Subaru going through the subjugation of the White Whale as an aged man approached them.

"That's enough Felix. They've heard enough."

"But Wil-"

"But nothing, you should respect Subaru-dono's liege and honour what he's done. I for one is all too indebted to him and the least I could do I provide respect for his master to preserve his memory."

 _I only hope that people would also do the same to honour his great actions._


End file.
